Arrest made in deaths of mom, kids

The intruder who killed a Lockport mother and her two young daughters last year has been charged with their deaths, Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced today.

Katie Urbaszewski andMatthew AlbrightStaff Writers

The intruder who killed a Lockport mother and her two young daughters last year has been charged with their deaths, Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced today.David Brown, 34, of Houma and Texas, is charged with the Nov. 4 murders of Jacquelin Nieves, 29, Gabriela, 7, and Izabela, 20 months.Brown was arrested soon after the killings on unrelated charges while police gathered evidence.“This is one of the most horrific crimes in the history of Lafourche Parish,” Webre said. “A loving mother and her two wonderful children were violently killed while they slept in their beds by a violent criminal monster.”If convicted of murder, Brown faces a mandatory life prison sentence. Webre said he hopes prosecutors seek the death penalty and “his life sentence will be shortened by lethal injection.” Attempts to reach prosecutors were not immediately successful.Brown, who remains jailed on a $3.31 million bond, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and aggravated arson, the latter for allegedly setting fire to the Nieves' Elliot Drive apartment to cover up his crime.Jacquelin and the girls had each been stabbed at least once and two of them had been raped, police said.Brown, who has a violent criminal history dating back to 1994, is also charged with one count of attempted first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated rape. The first charge stems from Carlos Nieves' presence in the apartment that night, authorities said. He was Jacquelin's husband and the girls' father.Webre declined to say which of the two were attacked.The knife used to kill the three was recovered, and DNA collected from the apartment was matched to Brown, police said.Brown has a long and violent criminal history, police said.Neighbors say Jacquelin and Carlos met Brown during an apartment party held to watch the LSU-Alabama football game. Brown's co-workers invited him, they said.Some tenants in the complex didn't lock their doors that night, including Leroy Hebert, who said Brown came into his home and up to his bedroom where his wife was sleeping the night of the killings. Jacquelin was a former nurse who took a job with shorter hours at the Walmart bakery so she could take care of her children, neighbors said. Carlos Nieves Jr. was recently laid-off from his welding job and was seeking new employment. He did not attend a morning news conference held to announce the arrest.Gabriela went to Lockport Lower Elementary.Izabela had just learned to say Carlos' name.

Staff Writer Matthew Albright can be reached at 448-7635 or at matthew.albright@dailycomet.com.